by Michelle Stein posted in Pregnancy

I'm in the first trimester of pregnancy with my fourth child -- and currently in the trenches of "morning sickness."
Each experience I've had so far has been the same: I feel nauseated all day long. But instead of losing my appetite because I feel sick to my stomach, the only thing that provides some form of relief is eating. Like constantly munching all day long.
When I first wake up in the morning, breakfast helps curb the initial wave of nausea, and an a.m. snack helps keep it at bay. But by the time I need to pick up my daughter from preschool, I feel like I'm going to die if I don't specifically eat a Filet-O-Fish sandwich and french fries from McDonald's. Or a Crunch Wrap Supreme from Taco Bell.
Once I fill my tummy at lunchtime, I'll be good to go for maybe an hour until another wave of sickness takes over. So I munch crackers, sip some ginger ale and grab a cookie. Maybe I'll even indulge in a smaller, second lunch. (And then some ice cream for good measure.) By the time dinner rolls around, I'm not even hungry because I've been stuffing my face all afternoon.
The worst of my pregnancy-related nausea hits in the evenings. No amount of eating makes it go away completely; it merely takes the edge off. Which inevitably leads to a 9 p.m. Taco Bell run. (Thanks, dear!)

For obvious reasons, I tend to gain more weight during the first trimester of pregnancy than the average pregnant woman. Like 10 pounds at least. Which i...